Can opener



F. H. BOYER 2,7 ,013

CAN OPENER June 21, 3955 Filed June 19, 1955 I IN V EN TOR.

FF-Arias, H. EQYER 7% 77Za wz4j6m02 v 49mm ATTO QHEYS United States CANOPENER Francis H. Boyer, De Quincy, La.

Application June 19, 1953, Serial No. 362,761

2 Claims. (Cl. 30-22) This invention relates to can openers and moreparticularly to a hand supported can opener for cutting around the edgesof can tops.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved canopener which has a longitudinally curved shank portion adapted to fitaround the rim of a can ii and carrying a can cutting blade, a guidefinger adjacent the blade and a fulcrum finger spaced from the guidefinger and the blade for engaging a can rim to provide a fulcrum forforcing the blade into a can top; which includes a handle spaced alongthe shank from the blade and fulcrum finger a distance sufficient toprovide ample leverage for easily forcing the blade through a can top;which is securely held in operative position on an associated can duringthe can opening operation; which has a bottle opening structure at theend of the handle remote from the can opening blade; and which is simpleand durable in construction, economical to manufacture, easy to use, andeffective and efiicient in use.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a considerationof the following description and the appended claims in conjunction withthe accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a can opener illustrative of theinvention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the can opener illustrated inFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the can opener shown inoperative association with a can also fragmentarily illustrated; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the can opener andassociated can showing the manner in which the can opener is used to cutaround the edge of the can top.

With continued reference to the drawing, the can opener comprises anelongated handle 10, preferably, but not necessarily, of circular crosssectional shape, having terminal formations of reduced diameter receivedin cylindrical ferrules 11 and 12. A can opener shank 14 formed from ametal strip of elongated, rectangular cross sectional shape withstraight, substantially parallel side edges, has one end received in oneend of the handle and has the portion thereof projecting from theadjacent end of the handle arcuately curved longitudinally thereof toextend around the rim of a can. The end of the shank 14 remote from thehandle 10 is provided with a longitudinally extending point formation 15for puncturing can or other container tops.

A blade 16 is secured at one end to the shank 14 near the end of theshank remote from the handle 10 and extends across the width of theshank. This blade has straight and substantially parallel side edges 17and 18 disposed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the shank 14, a back or end edge 19 disposed substantially fiushwith the edge of the shank remote from the edge of the shank from whichthe blade projects, and a cutting edge 20 spaced from the 2,711,013Patented June 21, 1955 adjacent edge of the shank 14 and inclinedrelative to the adjacent edge of the shank with its end remote from thehandle 10 nearer the shank than its end nearest the handle.

A guide finger 22 is secured at one end to the shank 14 at the end ofthe blade 16 remote from the handle and at the side of the shankopposite the blade and this guide finger extends from the shank in thesame direction as the plate and perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the shank, being parallel to the adjacent portion of the plateand spaced from the plate a distance equal to the thickness of the shank14.

This guide finger is adapted to extend along the outer surface of a canwith the blade inserted through the can top at the inner side of the canrim to guide the can opener around the can rim and firmly hold the canopener in operative position on the can, the distance between the guidefinger and the adjacent surface of the blade being substantially equalto the thickness of a conventional can rim.

A fulcrum finger 24 is secured at one end to the shank 14 between theblade 16 and the adjacent end of the handle it) and extends from theshank in the same direction as the blade 16 and the guide finger 22,being secured to the-shank at the side of the latter opposite the blade16 and disposed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the shank. This fulcrum finger is somewhat shorter than theguide finger 22 having its end remote from the shank disposed adjacentthe end of the cutting edge 20 of the blade 16 furtherest from the shank14 of the can opener. A tooth 25 is secured on the fulcrum finger 24 atthe end of this finger remote from the shank 14 and on the side of thefinger which contacts the adjacent surface of the shank. This tooth isdirected toward the shank and inclined outwardly from the associatedfulcrum finger so that its end nearest the shank is slightly spaced fromthe adjacent surface of the fulcrum finger to enable the tooth to engageunder a can rim 26, as illustrated in Figure 4, to provide a fulcrum forforcing the cutting edge 20 of the blade 16 downwardly through the top28 of a can when upwardly directed leverage is manually exerted on thehandle 10 of the can opener with the can opener in operative positionrelative to an associated can.

With the blade disposed at the inner side of the can rim 26 and theguide finger 22 and fulcrum finger 24 disposed at the outer side of thecan rim and With the shank 14 longitudinally curved substantially to thecurvature of the can rim, the can opener will be firmly guided aroundthe can rim and, by forcing the handle up and down and the bladeforwardly as the can top is progressively cut away from the rim, thetool will be securely guided around the can rim and a smooth and evenout quickly made in the can top to separate the top from the associatedrim.

A bottle opening structure 30 is disposed at the end of the handle 10remote from the shank 14 and includes a shank portion 31 extending intothe adjacent end of the handle through the terminal formation 12 of thehandle, a lever 32 extending longitudinally from the shank 31 and a dog33 offset from the shank at the proximal end of the lever 32 and adaptedto engage under the edge of a crown cap on which the lever 32 is placed,so that leverage can be exerted on the cap by the handle 10 to force thecap off of the mouth of an associated bottle.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing 3description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embracedtherein.

What is claimed is:

1. A can opener comprising a handle; an elongated shank secured at oneend to and extending from the handle, said shank being constant in widthand thickness for substantially its full length; a blade secured at oneend to and depending from the other end of the shank and disposed whollyat one side of the shank, said blade having at its other end a cuttingedge inclined relative to the length of the shank; a guide fingersecured to and depending from the shank transversely of the shank fromthe blade, said guide finger being disposed wholly at the other side ofthe shank and being spaced by the thickness of the shank from the bladefor disposition of the guide finger and blade at opposite sides of a canrim bead and thickness of which is substantially equal to that of theshank; a fulcrum finger secured at one end to and depending from theshank at a location spaced longitudinally of the shank from the blade,between the blade and handle, said fulcrum finger being formed as astraight length of material extending normally to the length of theshank; and a tooth on the other end of the fulcrum finger directedtoward the shank and inclined outwardly from the fulcrum finger toengage under a can bead directly above which the shank is positioned.

2. A can opener comprising a handle, an elongated shank secured at oneend to and extending from the handle, said shank being constant in widthand thickness for substantially its full length, a blade secured at oneend to and depending from the other end of the shank and disposed Whollyat one side of the shank, said blade having at its other end a cuttingedge inclined relative to the length of the shank, a fulcrum fingersecured at one end to and depending from the shank at a location spacedlongitudinally of the shank of the blade between the blade and handle,said fulcrum finger being formed as a straight length of materialextending normally to the length of the shank, and a tooth on the otherend of the fulcrum finger directed toward the shank and inclinedoutwardly from the fulcrum finger to engage under a can bead directlyabove which the shank is positioned.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,671,014 Cummings May 22, 1928 2,514,069 Jorgensen July 4, 19502,593,329 Miller Apr. 15, 1952

